UWIC attacks University of Glamorgan for ‘predatory attitude’ over merger

A UNIVERSITY has attacked a neighbouring institution’s “predatory attitude” amid mounting pressure to merge.

A UNIVERSITY has attacked a neighbouring institution’s “predatory attitude” amid mounting pressure to merge.

The University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (Uwic) believes repeated attempts by the University of Glamorgan to merge have led to damaging “innuendo”.

It accused Glamorgan of being “unwilling to work collaboratively” until a date for merger was set, and questioned how the universities could come together with very little in common.

And Uwic appears to have confirmed that Glamorgan’s expanding presence in the capital has put a strain on relations.

In her response to the Welsh Government’s consultation on reconfiguration, Uwic’s chair of governors Barbara Wilding said: “Over a 20-year period, Uwic has been subject continually to approaches to merge with the University of Glamorgan... characterised by unwillingness on the part of the University of Glamorgan to commit to the creation of a truly ‘new’ metropolitan university in South- East Wales – a university... created by assimilation, not takeover.

“None of those merger approaches has offered achievable benefits for Uwic’s stakeholders. Indeed, the resulting innuendo has been detrimental to Uwic and to Wales.

“Nor has the University of Glamorgan been willing to work collaboratively with Uwic until/ unless a date for merger was first set. As a direct consequence, the development of the Skillset Media Academy and the University of Glamorgan’s Atrium campus in Cardiff have occurred without Uwic involvement.”

Universities have been under pressure to collaborate since the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (Hefcw) outlined plans to halve the nation’s institutions last December.

The proposals are backed by Education Minister Leighton Andrews, who has demanded fewer vice-chancellors and told universities to “adapt or die”.

Glamorgan and Uwic, just 10 miles apart, are considered ideal merger candidates. In its collaboration blueprint, Hefcw proposed creating a new metropolitan institution appropriate to partners in South-East Wales.

The University of Wales, Newport has since put forward similar proposals.

Miss Wilding said such a merger was “highly complex” and ran a “significant risk of being unsustainable and failing”.

She said the outcome of merger would be an “unwieldy institution” with more than 43,000 students, making it the largest UK campus-based university.

“There would be a loss of institutional distinctiveness through combining three universities with very different cultures, values and strategic orientations.”

Uwic believes closer collaboration with partners in the capital is the best option, a view supported by stakeholders.

Miss Wilding added: “Hefcw’s report is silent on who would be liable for failings that might arise from mergers that were not supported by the individual universities involved.

“There is extreme danger that Government action might enforce mergers, but at the cost of weakening the Welsh higher education sector and creating a legacy of profound problems.”

Professor John Andrews, Glamorgan’s chair of governors, said the Treforest-based institution backs a three-way merger.

“We see the long-term potential for South-East Wales of a single, modern university of a size and scale to compete with the bigger competitors over the border,” he said.

“There must be a swift, clear decision to merge or not. We will need to see that the new institution will be more than the sum of the parts that went into it. ”

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